A Sliver of the Faded Moon
by TheSODU
Summary: The council is gone, and a year later life seems darker than ever for the former students of Cross Academy. But who is this mysterious ally from the enemy’s camp? Takuma&Kaname friendship angst, squint for any pairing you want. Four chapters in four days!
1. Chapter 1: A Brief Reunion

AN: Hi, I haven't written fiction in ages, but the current turning point in Vampire Knight has so much potential that I just can't resist. This will probably be AU as soon as the next chapter of the manga comes out, but I plan to stick with this. Anyway, be kind, but let me know your thoughts.

I know parts of this are vague, but I'm intentionally leaving a few mysteries that will be revealed as things progress. But I appreciate feedback, so let me know if there are any gaping holes that make no sense.

Disclaimer: Not mine. Alas, none of them at all.

Spoilers: This will make a bit more sense if you're up to date with the manga, but if you're reading fanfiction, you're probably a fanatic anyway.

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*One year after the execution of the council*

Yuki Kuran resisted the temptation to look back for the source of the shoes tapping on pavement behind her. Instead she focused on Rima's back as it swung left and right, faster and faster through a maze of alleyways.

Rima's breath came out in soft huffs between pursed lips. How dare they make this task any more distasteful than it already was? Such vigorous exercise -- particularly down grimy, narrow pathways -- was not something Rima was fond of. She'd much rather be lounging on a couch, poking Shiki with a stick of pocky.

Then again, they'd all been doing things that were rather out of character these days. This mission, after all, was supposed to be Shiki's responsibility. But Shiki was somewhere in a hotel room, 20 miles behind them, nursing a stab wound to the gut and a scratch, a _scratch_, across his pristine, apathetic facial features. A model shouldn't have to suffer such injustices, and the corners of Rima's mouth twitched down into a frown.

'Glided into a frown,' she corrected herself. These were dark times, but a model had to maintain some sense dignity to hold herself apart from the rest of this godforsaken world.

As the racing footsteps behind them grew louder, Rima yanked Yuki into a faster run with a tight grip on the pure-blood princess' forearm.

What should she do? What would Shiki have done? Rima decided that when she saw him next they'd have to sit down and have a conversation, yes, with actual talking for extended periods of time. She loathed to waste her time chatting about something as dull as combat strategy (she could almost yawn just thinking about it), but the murderous vampires closing in on the duo were a clear sign that it would be useful knowledge.

She shifter her weight to her right foot as she veered left, blond pig tails whipping around and Yuki swinging behind like a kite on a thread. She swung Yuki right past her and shoved her ahead up a fire escape.

"Rima?"

"Up, keep…go up…have a plan," Rima replied as she backed up the first few steps.

As set of shadows rounded the corner and Rima unleashed a wave of daggers charged with a touch of crackling electricity. A few found their mark, but more figures flowed out of the alley.

She turned and began climbing after Yuki, throwing daggers each time she tuned up another flight of stairs. A burst of green energy sizzled past her hair.

Yuki paused her flight, wishing there was something she could do, but half-way up a building in some dank side street was no place for her Artemis Rod.

Both girls yelped as the stairs shook. With a burst of pureblood strength, Yuki broke off a piece of railing, cement from the wall still clinging to it, and she flung it at the vampires beginning to climb the stairs below. It shattered with the incredible force, sending shards of hot shrapnel at their pursuers.

'Doing things we aren't accustomed to, indeed,' Rima thought, as she vaulted up the last few flights.

They took off across the roofs. Yuki smiled as she spotted Rima out of the corner of her eyes – a blur of blond crouching then lunging forward to the next landing. Perhaps, if things ever got back to normal, Rima could do a ninja movie. She'd make one heck of a stunning, passionless ­­killer, although it might unhinge a mortal to see this sort of Rima, the sort even scarier than the one out of pocky. Yuki took a little pride in herself whenever she got a giddy little idea like this that would have been worthy of the old Yuki, a carefree school girl. She was happy to be properly at Kaname's side, but it all could have gone so much better.

With the council gone, the nobles had reached around blindly, grasping for a new equilibrium of power. The more they looked, however, the more the balance swung out of control like a pendulum picking up momentum with each stroke. Too many people had tried to plug the power vacuum at once, and the pure bloods had just sat back to watch the fun. Entire families had been burned to the ground, thousand-year-old households had been ripped asunder. A few pillars of power had emerged: an alliance of savage level E vampires rumored to have a brilliant leader looking to flip the scales of power, a group of second-tier nobles aiming to be the next council lead by a man named Otono, and a series of other mobs, many with pure bloods pulling the strings from backstage.

Yuki wanted Kaname to do something, but she never brought it up. She suspected that he must want to do something, too, that he almost regretted massacring the council. His enemies had seized on the action and declared him mad. He'd always been a little odd. What an eccentric thing, living alongside humans, and Ichiou had always implied he was rather ungrateful, hadn't he?

So Kaname watched from the shadows, protecting his sister and looking for an opening.

This scroll, in the bag clutched to Yuki's chest, was supposed to help nudge that opening a little wider. Kaname had been out looking for it when she had received an anonymous note, hinting it was nearby. She gone out alone and found it in a musty antique stall, on a shelf between a stuffed sparrow and a wooden globe. The blood red letters supposedly said something about ways to control humans. That was what all these groups seemed to be after.

Someone had followed Yuki back to the Kuran estate where she had been staying, and they'd just barely managed to get out of the flaming building. Shiki had gotten that lovely cut out of the mess.

Now they were headed to another Kuran estate -- Yuki had no idea which one -- and Shiki was to follow behind.

They didn't know which faction was following them, but it didn't really matter at this point. A glint on the horizon pulled her out of her drifting thoughts. What had it been, a few seconds of reflection?

Suddenly, Yuki was skidding to a halt and Rima stopped as well, spotting the dark shapes shooting up on the next roof. She turned only, so see them closing in from that side, as well.

'No,' Yuki breathed out. She shivered thinking what they might do to her. She'd heard that the level E vampires would rip into a pure blood and drink without regard for their status simply as a sign of defiance.

Yuki shifted and summoned her weapon. Rima straightened, knife clenched in hand. Someone screamed.

Thwack. Metal plenged into flesh. A slash across a neck, followed by a slurping gargle of blood. Hack. Shwing, Thunk. Thud.

Rima stood frozen, the same knife in hand. She hadn't moved. She tilted her head just to check that the cold presence to her side was indeed still Yuki. Neither of them had moved. Slash. Slash. Slash. Thud. Thud. Thud.

The shadows fell with the flash of a sword, lit by the orangey glow of far below streetlights. Rima caught a silhouette as it leapt and plunged its blade down through two shadows.

The figure paused and stepped toward the two girls. Yuki suddenly realized it was quiet. Were their assailants all dead?

"Kaname," Yuki sighed with a slight smile.

He must have sent someone after them, and Shiki must have redirected this vampire in their direction. The figure took another step.

"You shouldn't be here. The east end of town isn't safe anymore," a male's strained voice whispered.

Yuki stepped forward to respond, but Rima cut in front of her.

"Who are you?"

"Rima that's rude," Yuki spoke up, turning toward Rima.

"I'm sorry, my mistress would be displeased if I answered that," the man whispered again. The enemies were dead. Why did he keep whispering?

Yuki and Rima snapped their heads back toward their savior, a distinct uneasiness settling over them.

"It's good to see you though," another whisper.

Then he was gone.

"Wha…" Yuki stared at the empty space, only to realize the vampire was headed straight at her, no he was already passed her, then gone.

"Oooookay, that was odd," Yuki's breathing evened out and her muscles slowly relaxed bit by bit.

"Weirdo," Rima's voice took on its usual disinterested tone with just a trace of lingering edginess.

"Yeah, he.. Rima. Rima! It's gone, the scroll is gone."

Rima lazily turned to Yuki, but her eyes betrayed a pinch of fear.

"He took it, that, that, that … jerk took it!" Yuki was shaking on the verge of tears. Had she failed Kaname? What sort of vampire had the so called Scroll of Human Enslavement now? Who was that lone assassin – a rouge or a servant?

"Yuki, what's that?"

Yuki blinked and bent to pick up the little slip of paper at her feet. She read the scrawled writing. There were just two sentences and a little smudge of blood. It was the same handwriting that had been on the note that had hinted that the scroll was in the antique shop to begin with, and her heart jumped when she saw who it was addressed to.

"_Kaname, Stay away from the sea. Mistress would be displeased and you might die."_

It didn't make sense. There had been some rumors of dark goings on near the bay, but this was just ridiculously vague.

She turned to Rima, but Rima's eyes were still fixed on the handwriting. Did she understand something that Yuki had missed?

"Rima?"

Rima didn't budge.

"Rima? Hey, now…"

"Shiki..."

"What about Shiki?

"Shiki won't believe it."

"Won't believe what?"

"Takuma…"

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AN: Muahaha. What's going on? Next chapter we'll check in with Kaname, Kain and Aido to learn more about this dark future.

Anyway, read, review, you know the drill.


	2. Chapter 2: Messes and Such

AN: Thanks to anyone who has read this far and even more thanks to reviewers! I'm glad you like it so far. Hopefully, I won't disappoint. This chapter continues setting the scene, but the story will get moving soon.

BEWARE of the Ichijou vs. Ichiou references in this and following chapters. The latter is Takuma Ichijou's grandpa, Asato, and the leader of the council.

And as for pairings: There aren't really any, but if you squint, I've left plenty of tidbits where you can see whatever you want. It's really going to be a friendship fic about Takuma and Kaname, but take whatever liberties you want.

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Akatsuki Kain pulled another arrow from another corpse with a grimace. The body vaporized and Kain turned away from the lingering smell of ash. He threw the arrow in the ever-growing pile on the wooden dock as Hanabusa Aidou tossed another two into the collection.

This was going to take forever -- he glanced at the shack at the end of the dock -- especially if Kaname and Zero were going to keep being so useless.

Kaname leaned lightly against the shack, staring vaguely in the direction of some seagulls floating over the water near the rising sun. Zero stood 20 paces away, looking up the hill back toward the town.

Some things never changed.

Zero had returned a month ago, grudgingly. The hunters weren't interested in a vampire on the way to being level E, at least, a live one. He and his Bloody Rose still would have stuck it out alone if it hadn't become near impossible to survive as a solo opperator. Even as the risks grew, he had dealt with attack after attack until a rogue group of level Es tried to tear him apart only to have some lackeys from the Neo Council bust in and slaughter them all, nearly taking Zero with them.

***

ZERO FLASHBACK TO A LITTLE OVER A MONTH AGO

He'd sat in a corner, propped up against a wall slick with his own blood trying to decide whether he was dying or faking being dead to fool the NeoC henchmen.

His decision was made clear – he had to live – when he swung into conscious enough to overhear some of the conversation.

"Do you think flames were such a good idea?" said a man's voice.

"Probably not, I suppose we can try stakes on the next group," a woman spoke now.

"Hmm, how quaint," came the man's odd accent. Through the haziness, Zero clinically evaluated the way the man exaggerated vowels.

"But it would keep the blood from burning. It seems we don't get anything out of it when it's been charred black, and it smells so foul."

Too many words, he couldn't tell which NeoC was talking anymore.

"The stone lit up nicely, though. Of course, there was plenty of other blood, what with that explosion through the wall. Ne?"

"Filthy level E blood. All these probably don't equate to one pure blood."

"Yes, but you try capturing one of those, let alone enough of them to test our methodology sufficiently. People notice when pure bloods go missing, you know, not like these scum."

A thud, like body being kicked by a boot.

"Probably wouldn't be worth the trouble. I still don't know what Councilor Otono is going to do about the pure bloods once we're ready."

"Once we have control of the humans, even the purebloods won't stand a chance. Even mice could devour a tiger if you had enough of them."

"How morbid and not particularly poetic. But mayhaps."

Zero wondered if he was unconscious after a pause only to realize the vampires had simply stopped speaking. He cracked an eye open. The world was so blurry he couldn't tell if they were gone.

When he woke up, Zero decided the conversation was troublesome. Killing vampires, that he could do as a lone wolf. But investigating the shady goings on of the newly forming vampire hierarchy, he admitted, might require some backup. So the angsty vampire-hating vampire turned to the one place he could trust and the last place he wanted to go.

That was how Kain found a bloody body on the steps of a charming cottage that had belonged to Kaname. Kain was supposed to fetch a book from the mansion-sized cottage's library. He walked up the drive, and there was Zero, red smeared through his silvery hair.

Kain sighed and stepped over the mess into the house. Once he retrieved the book, Kain put his coat back on in the foyer, opened the front door and peered down.

The lump hadn't moved and he supposed he ought to do something about it.

"Kiryuu." Poke poke.

***

BACK TO PRESENT

So, here they were – the smell of the sea, the wind blowing, and Kaname and Zero grumpy. Neither one moved to help clean up the bodies from the night's adventure.

Not that Kaname did this sort of dirty work even before destroying the council. It was understandably something for which pure bloods had servants and follower, or minions depending on the pure blood. Since Ichijou's disappearance, perhaps death, Kain had come to realize how much the cheerful manga addict took care of Kaname -- mostly because the rest of them were now in charge of his duties.

Kain got the general impression that they weren't living up to Kaname's expectations, or maybe Kaname just was accustomed to katana-wielding noble's mannerisms. Perhaps sulking around was a form of grieving for your friend, servant, fellow victim of Ichiou. Whatever Ichijou was to Kaname, something about growing up in the same house had clearly made Kaname attached to the other vampire. That was clear, even if Kaname hadn't spoken a word about it and had glared Shiki into silence every time he tried to bring up the subject of his lost friend.

But for goodness sake, how were they supposed to know that Kaname liked the window blinds cracked open for a few minutes when the sun turned the sky red in the morning or that Kaname arranged his pens in a row on the desk when he didn't want any more work for the day? Who on earth would need a pot of marigolds by his bed to get to sleep? Yes, Kaname was definitely more eccentric than Kain had realized, and it gave him a whole new reason to wish that Ichijou was really alive and okay out there somewhere.

Shooting Kaname and Zero another look – not that he was hinting that they ought to _help_ or something ridiculous like that – Kain tossed another arrow and watched another body shrivel and disperse.

"The sun will take care of the rest, they're low level," Kain jerked up to see Kaname had spoken.

So they started their trek back up the hill, knowing that the already dead bodies of weak vampires wouldn't withstand the light.

Aidou kicked the pile of arrows off the dock, taking out his frustration with a ripple in the water. They'd had another lead on this scroll that was supposed to have some sort of spell to bind humans to vampires. Kaname had said the result made the caster something like a puppet master, much the way purebloods could naturally control their subordinates. Who knew how this spell thing worked, though.

The four men trudged away from the sea empty handed. About 10 minutes later, they were 30 miles to the west, darting into a cave that led into the current Kuran estate/headquarters du jour.

Kain fell in step with Aidou, Kaname led the way and Zero trailed far behind the three. Kaname paused and Aidou moved to open the door for him. He couldn't resent Kaname for it. Such treatment was just what a pure blood should be given. Kaname probably didn't even notice the instinctual expectation. His mind was likely occupied with things of greater importance, such as how they were going to find this dang scroll with everyone and their cousins after it.

Halfway through the doorway, Kaname stopped, leaving everyone else stuck in the cave.

"Kaname," a soft word from just inside.

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AN: OK, so I decided this was a good point to pause, even though I wrote this and the next chapter as one originally. So jump forward and checkout what's next.


	3. Chapter 3: Younger Days

AN: Again, just picking up where the last chapter left off. We get a touch of Kaname's childhood. Keep in mind the flashback is from Kaname's perspective with his biases and assumptions.

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_Halfway through the doorway, Kaname stopped, leaving everyone else stuck in the cave._

"_Kaname," a soft word from just inside._

Yuki rushed forward and wrapped her hands in her brother's cloak, leaning in for the delicious sent so like her own.

Zero slipped passed them and started up the stairs.

"Zero?"

He paused and said, "Hello, Yuki," then kept walking to his room.

"Kaname, what is Zero doing here?"

"He's the one who told us about the scroll, you got our message about how it seems to be what everyone is after, right?" Kain explained. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed…"

"Right!" Yuki interrupted, turning to Kaname. "We saw Ichijou."

It was one of those rarest of rare occurrences. Kaname looked disconcerted.

"I thought he was dead," and just like that Kaname has said his first words about his former vice president in a year.

Yuki hesitated a moment.

"I think he told me where the scroll was and we got it, well, I got it, and that caused a mess, but Shiki is okay now, he just got here, but yeah..." Yuki started rambling.

"You got the scroll?" Aidou piped up in eagerness.

"Er, well, we had it…Then Ichijou took it." Yuki braced herself for a reprimand.

"And where is he?" Kaname asked.

"Not sure. He kind of killed the bad guys and left, but, oh! He left you a note, a weird note, but a note. Rima was sure it was him."

Kaname took the note that was thrust at him and read it.

"Who is she?" he asked. Goodness, Kaname was talking up a storm today.

"Pardon?"

"Who is this woman, Yuki, in the note?"

"Ah, the mistress lady? Yeah, no idea. We thought you might know."

Still looking at the scrap of paper, Kaname started up the stairs.

"Kaname?" It took everything Kain had to break the soundly constructed silence. "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to find the scroll."

He continued up the stairs and headed for his room, leaving Kain and Aidou to bombard Yuki with questions she couldn't answer.

Kaname shut his door behind him, pressed his back to it and slid to the floor like he used to when he was a child.

***

KANAME FLASHBACK

Yes, he always had held his back up straight the whole way to his room, no matter how the whip marks from Ichiou's latest torture session had burned. He would not show that bastard pain, he would not give in. He'd sit inside the door and burry his dead in his knees and wallow in shame of his powerlessness. He knew his caretaker was after his blood and had been since the very moment he accepted Kaname as his ward upon the death of the pure blood's parents. Reincarnation or not, he was a boy, and he hated himself every time he cried out in pain in that weak voice of a child.

He never got far into his self pity before he heard the footsteps and the heartbeat lingering outside his door. At night the footsteps were muffled by fluffy slippers and during the day they clicked in that way that shiny, uncomfortable dress shoes do. Kaname had tensed and stood ready to throw the intruder to the wall the first week he lived in that pristine, barren home. But the intruder never actually entered the room, never even knocked. The little feet just stood there, and Kaname was sure it was some plot of Ichiou's. He couldn't have peace even in his own room because this little child chased after him everywhere. Kaname supposed he must be spying for Ichiou, although it seemed a little rediculous, even for the council leader.

Of course, the little spy didn't overtly follow him anymore. Kaname snapped at the boy by the third day. The spy had been following in his wake at a distance ever since, as though the constant shadow wasn't the most obvious and irritating thing in the world to Kaname.

It had to be a terribly boring job. Kaname stayed in his room all day with the shadow standing or sitting outside the door. It would briefly disappear just before Kaname had to go to see Ichiou off to the council, since Ichiou insisted a loving guardian and ward should greet and say farewell at the door. The shadow would follow down the hall and then always miraculously disappeared and beat him to the entryway at the last minute. They'd say their farewells, and the little spy would dart forward for a hug and a pat on the head.

He always acted so innocent and young, normal for that age, the pure blood supposed. Kaname knew it was an ill-formed act to put the vampire prince at ease. As if that would work. Then came the awkward pat to Kaname's own head. The front door would shut and Kaname would storm back to his room with the shadow again in tow. If the elder was to be gone for more than a day, Kaname would venture into the library, trying to ignore the pair of eyes staring at him through the shelves. The boy was quiet enough, but it was almost as if he didn't mind Kaname knowing he was there.

Sometimes Kaname took a walk through the rose gardens, with a pair of maids trailing after him. Still, the shadow prowled in the shrubbery. Kaname once caught sight of him for just a second, petals and leaves sticking out of the well-groomed blond hair.

Then Ichiou would return with the goodbye done in reverse. The self-important council leader would retreat to his study, and the shadow would inevitably disappear for a few hours before a timid maid came knocking on Kaname's door.

He'd strut out, the master of indifference, head held high as he walked to Ichiou's study. He could never tell if the spy waited outside the study. He supposed it would be unnecessary with Ichiou able to see the pure blood's every move at that point, anyway.

As Ichiou tried to strike up some small talk, Kaname would pointedly stare at him, waiting until the council member grew flustered and inevitably snapped at him before yanking his small wrist toward the adjoining room.

Then the whipping and whatnot. The grown Kaname wouldn't dignify it with much reflection, but it still gave him a shiver every now and then. Crying was more common than he'd like to admit, but it was as though his tear ducts froze from the time he was in the hall until he arrived at his room. No servant would know he wept, or so he told himself. It was bad enough when Ichiou turned Kaname's tear-striped face to him, demanding that he give in, that it was only fair to share his blood with someone so worthy. Even though Ichiou knew he could never take the blood by force, he could smell it this way, and that stoked his determination even further.

Once Kaname was in the room, hardly his room at all except in name, he slid to the floor. Then, the patter of feet announced his watcher. He wondered if it slept out there or just waited until Kaname gave in and struggled over to his soft white sheets late in the morning.

It was almost four months after his arrival that Kaname decided something had to be done. The senior master of the house was something he had to endure, but he would not put up with this munchkin tormenting him.

After a good half hour in the antechamber to Ichiou's study he entered his room and willed his body to stay standing and straighten his perfect posture just a bit more.

"Come in," he called.

Thunk. Kaname allowed himself a satisfied grin. The shadow was so shocked, it had bumped its head on the door against which the shadow had pressed its forehead.

When nothing more happened, Kaname continued, "I told you to enter. Would you have me wait all day?"

A hand fumbled for the door, and with a click the heavy oak panel creaked open an inch. One of those eyes that peered at him all too often from the library appeared in the crack.

"I said in."

With that, there was suddenly a skinny young vampire standing in his room, looking utterly mortified and staring at the floor.

"What have you got there?"

Something was tucked in the creature's grasp. It moved to hold the parcel out, but Kaname interrupted.

"You speak to your grandfather just fine. You can speak to me."

At the mention of Kaname's enemy, the little spy's small frame straightened with courage and the boy raised his eyes just a few degrees to somewhere in the vicinity of Kaname's knees.

"Good evening Kuran-sama. I am sorry for intruding," as if the little monster hadn't been intruding on his every waking hour.

It was so distasteful that Kaname used a touch of compulsion to cruelly yank the boy's arms out to see what he was hiding. The young master Ichijou barely recovered in time to catch the pot of marigolds, although the box of cookies and packet of Band-Aids weren't so lucky.

"What is that?" Kaname asked.

"I read in a book that a lot of detamin, deteram, detrimental creatures don't like the smell of marigolds, and so you put them in the garden and unwanted pests stay away. It's magic."

That explained nothing. The boy was giving him gardening tips and had been waiting with a pot of flowers every night to enact this special brand of punishment?

"It's only that, I thought, maybe you'd sleep better if you had something that you knew would keep away the bad … stuff. I think it works. I tried it once, but mom and grandpa didn't believe me."

The boy had on the cheeriest smile as though he didn't realize he sounded completely moronic. For a moment, Kaname wondered if this might after all just be a boy stuck in a big house with his grandfather, leagues away from his parents.

"And the Band-Aids, well, they probably won't be much good for what he does, but I don't know where they keep the proper bandages. Normally the servants fetch those, and I've never really been hurt badly enough to need such a thing. The cookies are fairly self-explanatory, I suppose."

No he wasn't just a lost, naive little boy, but perhaps, just perhaps, he wasn't a spy either. Kaname would watch him.

***

BACK TO PRESENT

Kaname almost smiled. Takuma a spy? He hadn't trusted anyone easily after his parents' death, least of all a person related to Ichiou. But in hindsight he could hardly believe he'd ever thought such a thing about the blond, who'd followed him around like a dog waiting for a friendly pat on the head. His smile masked how much Ichiou's grandson understood about what was going on around him, but there was some genuine happiness behind it, too. It had made living in that hellish house bearable, at least after he had finally learned to trust the boy and his kind heartedness.

"We'll find you, Takuma," whispered the pure blood, sinking his face between his knees and listening for footsteps. But all he heard was the distant sound of Yuki giggling. There were so many things he had to protect, and he felt the strange need to apologize for something.

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AN: Phew. Voila, another chapter. So, next chapter: A plan is hatched. One of the gang already thinks they know where Takuma is. The question is, does knowing where he is do them any good?


	4. Chapter 4: Where Art Thou, Ichijou?

AN:

Four chapters in four days! Would you believe I started writing this on a whim four days ago and I still work a 9-5 job? I'm just spoiling you guys. I should probably edit more, but it always drives me nuts waiting to see what happens next when I read other folks' stories. So, I figure if I have to go back and add a punctuation mark later, you'll all live.

Thanks for reviews.

Michi Leona, I tried to clarify things for you. Thanks for pointing out that some of it is confusing. It is a flashback, as you suspected, and I tweaked it to make it clear that Takuma is the "spy." There's also now a paragraph near the end of chapter three that clarifies that Kaname was simply assuming that Takuma was spying for his grandfather (although maybe he really was, muahaha). I kind of meant for it to be vague until the confrontation in Kaname's room, but hopefully it works better now!

Anyway, get reading.

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THE EVENING AFTER THE LAST CHAPTER

Kain was decidedly uncomfortable.

Kaname was in his room sulking, Zero was in his room sulking. Yuki was in the forest green wingback chair across from Kain sulking because Zero and Kaname were sulking. Aidou would start smiling around the room cheerily, only to get notice the drab atmosphere and start sulking. A few minutes later he'd try smiling again. Then there was Rima and Shiki.

They were lounging on a pink couch overflowing with cushions and pillows. Rima would nudge Shiki.

"Ne, Shiki…"

Shiki raised an eyebrow.

Rima turned her head toward him with a blank face.

He turned his head toward hers.

Rima shrugged a shoulder with a sigh.

Shiki tilted his head.

Rima sighed again.

Shiki sighed.

They turned their heads forward again.

Shiki held the box of pocky out across the couch, and Rima grabbed two sticks and munched quietly.

"Ne, Shiki…"

Dear goodness, Kain had just caught himself twitching again. Please make it stop.

A knock on the sitting room door answered his plea. On second thought, their options were that behind that door was a stressed Kaname, a disgruntle Zero or some fiendish vampire or hunter come to kill them all. Maybe the last option wouldn't be so bad.

But in walked Kaname, tangible cloud of…was that gloom hanging over head?

Kaname stood there for a bit before, Kain jumped from his seat to relocate to the piano bench, opening his chair for Kaname. However, the pure blood just stood there a bit more.

"Uhh, Kaname?" Kain held his breath as Aidou made an attempt at conversation. Such daring!

Silence.

"Remember when I went to the docks three days ago to scout out that Level E hideout we just raided?" Aidou asked.

He paused for a sign of acknowledgement but supposed the fact that Kaname hadn't turned and left was the best sign he was going to get.

"Well, I thought, well, there was this other warehouse along there with other vampires. I think I mentioned it. Lots of vampires down that way. I saw, well, I thought I saw, but I thought it was impossible at the time, so I had to be wrong, but…"

Kain wondered where on earth his cousin was trying to go with this.

"IthoughtIsawIchijou…but just for a moment. It couldn't have been, or I thought, umm…"

Everyone was staring at Aidou now, including Zero in the doorway. Rima took the box of pocky from Shiki. A moment later the box connected soundly with Aidou's head.

"Yeah, so I should have mentioned it, obviously, but it was only for a second. I sat there five hours and didn't see any sign of someone who looked like him again. I was sure I was mistaken, you know? I mean he died."

"He's not dead," Shiki was surprised to realize he had spoken the words at the same time as Kaname.

"Where?" Zero asked.

"Zero cares!" Yuki broke the tension with a cheer, throwing a fist in the air.

Zero sweat dropped, "He has the scroll Yuki."

"Oh." Yuki said with a pout, but a much more amiable pout than 10 minutes ago.

"Where?" Kaname repeated the question.

"Like I said, one of the warehouses by the sea," Aidou explained. "I don't know what it was called, but I'd definitely remember how to find it again. It had serious security and whoever owns it must have money. I thought, well, I figured it must be a pure blood's."

---------------

ONE DAY LATER

"He's going to kill you if we don't find Kaname," Kain leaned over to Aidou's ear from where they were perched on a park bench across the street from a massive pale blue warehouse. The park was clearly meant for the dock workers who lived in the deteriorating apartments at the end of the lane. A few families were walking past a little duck pond, and a small child in a kiddy sailor uniform was playing on a swing.

"Kill me? Shiki or Kaname? And Zero will send a bullet through me, too, if the scroll isn't here."

"More than one bullet I'd suspect," Kain replied.

Then he nearly tipped forward out of his seat, when Snowflake caught sight of a squirrel and ran between Kain's legs and under the bench with his leash still looped around Kain's hand. Snowflake was the fluffy, white pooch Yuki and Rima had come across during the second half of their dash to the mansion. Rima had been skeptical of the muddy paws, but Yuki's eyes had shot to the size of tea saucers and when the eyes started sparkling, Rima knew she was doomed.

Now Snowflake was on a mission. Yuki was convinced Aidou and Kain would look less suspicious staking out the warehouse if they were walking the dog at the same time. The dog, Kain had pointed out, had no training. Yuki assured him Snowflake was clearly a fine dog and must have been well-trained under his previous owner.

The well-trained dog was now attempting to yank Kain's arm off while dragging him under the bench. Kain had to admit, he probably didn't look much like a spy at the moment.

"Kain, pay attention."

"Oh, right, Aidou. Pardon my interruption," Kain nearly achieved sarcasm as he slowly reeled in the dog.

When he looked up, Kain noticed something was indeed finally happening. The gate to the compound was slowly opening for a convoy of flashy SUVs.

The chain-link fence topped with barbed wire rattled open. They watched the vehicles proceed to the second fence, this one concrete, topped with more wire and blocking any view of the inside. The warehouse loomed up behind it, with just a few windows in the far corner. The convoy disappeared through the second gate, and the guards began to pace the perimeter once more.

"The fences would be easy, but that can't be everything," Kain thought out loud.

"If it's a pure blood, there are bound to be blood protections. Maybe even stuff like what the NeoC are doing," Aidou frowned at the words.

The NeoC were apparently experimenting with sacrifice magic. That is what Kaname had told them all after speaking with Zero about his experience with the two NeoC henchmen with the odd accents.

The stone Zero had heard them speak of was a blood stone, and a blood stone apparently absorbed vampiric power released when a vampire's blood was spilled. The NeoC were using it to gauge how many sacrifices they needed for some sort of spell. Blood was a powerful thing, and it sickened the former Cross Academy students to picture someone using it in such a way.

Vampires all had heightened senses and the more powerful their blood, the more magic-like skills they possessed. A jolt of lightning, the ability to manipulate a whip of blood, or, for a pure blood like Kaname, the ability to shatter a wall of windows with a small bout of anger.

Vampire blood magic pooled the blood of others to cast spells no one vampire could manage. This is how Kaname came to the conclusion that the NeoC wanted the scroll, and if they wanted it, other people probably knew about it, too. Blood magic could ensnare a thousand humans with the ease that Aidou's pheromones could win them over. It was all the same principle, and it was supposedly only one of many sacrifice spells outlined in the scroll.

So, if someone in this fortress of a warehouse by the sea had the scroll, that person would be dangerous. Not that any of them could quite picture something associated with Takuma as a danger to themselves. The only time any of them had ever been on the receiving end of his katana was when Rima foolishly ripped a manga from his hands and threw it in the trash to get his attention. She'd had to pin back that section of hair back for weeks, although Takuma, with a murderous smile, had teased that his sword had simply trimmed a few split ends.

"I don't like this," Aidou spoke up from the bench, breaking Kain's train of thought.

After a few more minutes, the rest of Kaname's crew rounded a corner on the sidewalk, headed for the bench. This time Snowflake, the demon dog from hell, succeeded in pulling Kain off the bench, flat onto his stomach, as the dog raced for Yuki. Kain was on his feet in a flash.

"What a good boy! You've been helping big brothers Atasuki and Hanabusa haven't you? Yes you have!" Yuki giggled as it licked her face.

"The dog is already on first name basis with you two?" Rima asked, her blank face not betraying the fact that she was clearly loving this.

"Oh yes, we're such good buddies that we've decided to send him ahead as a scout in the warehou…" Aidou cut Kain off with an elbow to the ribs.

"So what have you found?" Kaname saved them.

"They come in, they go out. Shady vehicles, going through shady gates into shady compound, sir," Kain reported.

"And pure blood magic, too," Kaname verified, somehow perceiving it with those pure blood senses of his. He continued, "Our group couldn't get very close from the water, but they bring in big empty covered barges and they leave with piles of something under the tarps."

"Did you see Ichijou again?" Zero asked.

"Nope. The first time was just a glimpse of him through a car window at the gate. Most of the cars come in with the windows up," Aidou explained.

"So how do we know if he's really here? It might not even have been Ichijou the first time. Why would he come here? Why wouldn't he come to us?" Yuki wondered.

"I don't know, I just think he's in there," Aidou sighed.

"No, he's not."

Aidou prepared a retort, then looked around trying to figure out where the voice had originated. Kain pointed down with a bewildered look on his face, and Aidou felt a tug on his pants.

It was the little boy who had been playing on the swing.

"Oh ho ho. We're just playing a silly adult game. Pay us no mind little boy. We aren't sketchy adults at all. We're perfectly normal. Aren't we everyone," Yuki said (in a very sketchy fashion) as she squatted down beside the little redheaded boy. He couldn't be more than eight years old.

"No, you're talking about Takuma," the boy replied, rolling his eyes at the patronizing adults.

That caught their attention.

"You, you know Mr. Ichijou, little boy?" Yuki asked.

The child raised an eyebrow and Kaname intervened.

"Who are you?" Straight to the point as always, Kaname.

"My name is Moca. I would prefer not to give my last name to such a lot of shady characters. But pleased to make your acquaintance, and whose company am I in, might I inquire?"

"We're … friends of Takuma's," Kaname replied.

"Hmm, I give you the courtesy of my first name and that's all you have to offer?"

The child wasn't haughty, but he was wearing a mask of superiority. Moca was playing a game. He was testing them and it reminded Kaname of himself at that age.

"Your first name isn't very helpful. If I gave you my first name, you'd know who I was. That's not a fair trade," Kaname replied, not giving the child an inch. Moca seemed to respect the response.

"You're Kaname Kuran aren't you? Takuma told me about you," Moca's eyes were guarded, but when Kaname didn't immediately deny it, something akin to hope seemed to shine in the child's eyes.

"I told you he isn't here," Moca said. "He's with the mistress … but he's coming in two days."

Kaname's eyes were fierce and Moca seemed to like the reaction. He was pleased he knew something they didn't.

"All the important people come on the first of the month, and Takuma will come, too," Moca explained.

"Who is the mistress?" Shiki asked.

Moca pursed his lips at the interruption in his conversation with Kaname, but he answered anyway.

"I don't know. That's what the guards all say, that Takuma stays with the mistress. They don't worry about telling me just because I'm a kid. They're fools."

"And how do you know Takuma Ichijou?" Kaname asked.

"He's nice and not scary like the rest, at least not to me. Sometimes he comes to the park and pushes the swing for me," Moca commented.

It grated on Kaname's nerves that this boy spoke so flippantly about his almost-thought-dead follower/friend. The tone of the child's voice was calculated, as though he was showing off the fact that Takuma liked him more. Kaname almost wanted to give in and argue about that. He wanted to say that Takuma was loyal to Kaname to a degree this whelp couldn't begin to understand and put the boy in his place.

Instead he said: "And how can we trust you?"

"I don't know," Moca said. "I'm just a boy who rides the swing in the park. But those other vampires seemed to believe me, too. They said they'll be here Wednesday. Hmm, it's getting late. I'd better head home or my big sis will get mad."

The boy turned to leave and Kaname snatched his shoulder, nails digging in.

"What other vampires?"

"The level Es, oh, and the Neo Council goons. I think there might be two separate groups of level Es."

"Who are you?" Kaname demanded again.

"I told you, I'm Moca. Now let me go Mr. Kuran before I scream for the whole park to hear that you're trying to molest me and offer me chocolate if I get in your van with you."

Kaname didn't budge, but Yuki laughed awkwardly.

"Ah, Kaname, he really is a little boy. A fishy little boy, but we can't kidnap him," Yuki tried to reason.

"Why can't we?" Shiki asked, glowering daggers at the imp.

Kaname released the boy. He could tell by the child's eyes that they weren't going to get anymore answers, and the redhead really was just a boy.

Kaname turned to leave. Snowflake trying to follow, tail drooping.

"Kaname?" Yuki asked hesitantly, as he kept walking. "Er, thank you Moca."

"My pleasure. Don't get killed. It's dangerous down by the sea."

-----------------------------------

AN: Ok, there we go. The plot thickens. Next time: Takuma makes his appearance…and so do a whole slew of vampires after the scroll. We'll get a little more from Kaname's childhood in the Ichiou mansion, too.

Please review!


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